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Celebrate the Fourth safely

The Fourth of July is a time traditionally shared with family picnics and get-togethers. Many of those celebrations will be accompanied by a few bangs, booms and splashes of color and sparks. And, while we hope everyone will have a good time, we ask, once again, that you leave the fireworks to the professionals. Summer, especially the weeks that surround the Independence Day holiday, offers the promise of relaxing, care-free enjoyment, but this time of year can be dangerous. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were an estimated 9,700 fireworks-related injuries ...

Teaming up with the Red Cross

Give them credit, the American Red Cross knows when to make alliances with adversaries, if it will help it complete its mission. With the startlingly high number of tornadoes this season, the Red Cross notes “It’s vital for blood donors to make time in between summer celebrations to give blood and help ensure lifesaving blood products are ready the moment they are needed in times of disaster or where severe weather may prevent people from being able to donate.” The Tri-State Area has not been immune to ravages of the storms — a tornado in May struck parts of Jefferson, Hancock ...

Bringing the thunder

Area residents will start the countdown to the Fourth of July holiday this weekend in Wintersville. Thunder in the Ville, which will run Friday and Saturday, has for nearly three decades served as the Tri-State Area’s unofficial start of the Independence Day holiday. The formula for its success is simple — it offers a weekend of fun, activities for adults and children, vendors, food and, of course, fireworks. It’s a tradition that will be renewed at the Jefferson County Airpark. The festival will get started at 4 p.m. Friday, with opening ceremonies set to begin at 6 p.m. That ...

WVU needs to make the cuts that matter

West Virginia University’s board of governors appears to be continuing the cost-savings and right-sizing measures that are meant to stabilize the financial position of the state’s flagship institution of higher learning. Meanwhile, they’re raising tuition again — 5% this year after the 3% increase approved last year. The board decided to cut bachelor’s degree programs in chemistry, math and aviation management at West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley and cut bachelor’s programs in recreation, parks, and tourism resources and wood science and ...

Jerry West’s legacy will live on

Since 1975, the “Pride of West Virginia” moniker has been bestowed upon the West Virginia University Marching Band. But the true pride of our beloved state — arguably its most famous and acclaimed son — was born 37 years earlier in Chelyan, W.Va. On May 28, 1938, Jerome Allen West — known in his adult years as “Mr. Clutch,” “The Logo,” “Zeke from Cabin Creek” and more — came into this world, and over the ensuing 86 years he made just about every Mountaineer proud. West died June 12 at his home in Los Angeles with his wife by his side. From his prep playing ...

Investing in our agriculture

West Virginia is more than coal mines, timber operations and chemical plants. We are a state of farms, too — feeding our families, neighbors and communities for generations. But until recently, the Mountain State included the only land-grant school in the country not to have a school of agriculture. Fortunately, West Virginia State University no longer bears that distinction. This week, officials gathered in Institute, W.Va., to celebrate lawmakers’ passage of a bill that will provide $50 million to build a new lab that will then hold the state Agriculture Department ...